Lucio Fulci brings us perhaps his most famous horror film to wrap up the 1970s. And if I am wrong than that is just what I used to think before I had seen any of Fulci's films. This was the first Fulci movie I ever seen and I first saw this when I rented it with the equally as good 'House by the Cemetery' (also by Fulci) over a pizza. Right after the short intro the credits start rolling and we hear quite an amazing score from Fabio Frizzi. With the pounding bass drum and eerie keyboards. Great stuff! The story to the film though starts with zombies being found on an abandoned boat in the NY harbour. The daughter of the man who owns the boat Anne Bowles is played by the beautiful Tisa Farrow (sister of Mia Farrow). After she meets up with news reporter Peter West (Ian McCullough) they go in search of her father in Caribbean Island of Matul. Within I believe every one of Fulci movies I have seen to date (8 in total) there is some odd things going. Right to the point of it being ridiculous. He hits the high of ridiculousness here when a zombie (who incredibly comes out of nowhere) fights a shark in the ocean. You would think a moment like that would hurt a fight...badly. But not here. It actually goes along quite well with the film. The film is dripping with memorable gore, so if you are not into gory zombie movies steer clear. If so dive right in.

It's ridiculous that this film isn't rated higher. This is the film that set the stands for the decaying zombie... Fulci is one of the best directors that has ever lived.

awesome one of the best films ever made. it is the unofficial sequel to the original film Dawn of the dead. it is about an island that has a voodoo curse on it and the 4 people on the island must try to escape alive. When one of the members Peter is wounded they must get him across the island to the hospital while fighting zombies and avoiding the deep jungle and ancient burial grounds of the island. when the film is over you will watch in horror as the zombies invade New York and our heroes are hopeless to stop the impending apocalypse that will come with this army of the dead. this film is followed by Zombi 3 and the spinoffs are zombie holocaust.

Zombie Flesh Eaters as I've always known it, on the surface doesn't seem like much more than just another mindless undead movie, but the way Lucio Fulci directs it, and the excellent cinematography and score that always takes you into the world of the movie right away, and the gruesome hard work of a special effects team all work together to just make the movie better than most of its kind and raise it up to classic horror greatness. It was always more than just a cheap cash-in on Dawn, it deserves its reputation as a horror movie phenomenon in its own right. I can still remember when I first ever saw it totally uncut on VHS as a kid, as a big fan of zombies I was thoroughly blown away, it was such a fun gory blast, absolutely everything one could ever want in a zombie movie and it's one of my most favourite zombie flicks today, my second favourite. Right behind Dawn of the Dead, with The Video Dead running a close third! I love the location, it's a beautiful tropical island but the way they film it makes it feel like a somewhat surrealistic nightmare landscape, the constant desolate swirling winds and background voodoo drums give it a deep foreboding ambiance, and that great atmosphere of dread is a big part of the enjoyment and dark wonder of it. I don't even take issue with the dubbing, even though it does bring a certain air of cheesiness the way it continually teeters on the dialogue not quite matching up in time. But to me it doesn't detract anything from the movie, I think it even adds a little to the lore of it somehow. The zombies, for how ridiculously sluggish they are, are still creepy and are some of the most impressive-looking zombies that you'll ever see. They look decayed and rotten and are way more gross than Romero's zombies. I like the mystery of them. You never know if it's a virus, some kind of weird voodoo curse, or the result of Dr. Maynard's experiments. It helps to make the undead and the overall tone of the film mysterious and scary. Man I love that gore! It's so good, I think it holds up stupendously well, when the zombies get their heads smashed with shovels or blown off with shotguns it's satisfying as hell! Most horror movies of note just have one big famous scene in them, but this one has three! The shark vs zombie sequence is unique and bizarrely beautiful, I mean just when the hell do you ever see that!? There's the moment when the signature zombie of the movie slowly rises from its grave and rips out the throat of the poor terrified woman in truly spectacular bloody fashion. The best one though is undoubtedly the iconic nasty that alone gives this picture its reputation, it blows all the other gory scenes right out of the water. Wherein the beautiful Olga Karlotos has one of her dazzling eyes slowly punctured by a shard of wood in agonising close detail. Just when you think they're gonna cut away from it they don't, and you get to see the injury in incredible old school practical effects that cause your stomach to churn and your own eyes to wince. I thought up until her legendary death scene Karlotos gave a good performance. The fiery voice actress really nailed it! And the big climactic battle in the church that burns down is excellent and ends things on a high note before there is a little certain something that reveals that everything that's happened has been mere prelude to a far larger terror to come as the telltale radio broadcast is heard. It's bleak, but there's something so grand and corny in the way the man on the radio says what he does that I find it kinda cheerful and it always makes me smile! It may not appeal to everyone, but it certainly always did to me and I'll always love it, as it is a magnificent zombie classic. Bravo Mr Fulci!